


It's Always The Quiet Ones

by volunteerfd



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: M/M, Science Bros, With A Twist
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-03
Updated: 2018-06-03
Packaged: 2019-05-17 22:16:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,694
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14840168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/volunteerfd/pseuds/volunteerfd
Summary: Bruce is not only in an open, touchy, public relationship with a teammate, it appears to be a relationship with--of all people--Thor.





	It's Always The Quiet Ones

It was assumed that if Bruce ever got into a relationship with another teammate--he wouldn’t, but if he did--it was assumed that he would keep it a secret, being the private man that he was, that he would fret over the implications of a relationship, sweat over what it meant to love and be loved, wring his hands over the different paths a relationship could take.

No one expected open warmth, easy touches, casual displays of affection. Personal matters didn’t come easily to him; he wouldn’t allow them to. Nuclear physics, yes. Hair ruffling, no.

In fact, no one expected Bruce to be in a relationship, period, even with someone outside the group. The guy was as abstemious as a monk, lest the slightest indulgence or vulnerability threaten his control over the Other Guy.

And no one, no one in their wildest imagination or drunkest revelry, expected him to be with Thor.

* * *

 

Natasha, of course, noticed first. She was about to enter the kitchen at the same time as Thor, but something told her to hold back, to lurk in the shadows and watch. Bruce was hunched over a heavy tome and a bowl of oatmeal, brow furrowed in concentration. Thor clasped his hands on Bruce’s shoulders from behind. He smiled down fondly and Bruce looked up, equally fond, and Thor sat next to him and they began chatting--about what, Natasha didn’t know, but something that drew Bruce’s attention away from the book. A rarity and a marvel, Bruce getting distracted from work. Work was his distraction. It could be raining fire and Bruce would still finish up a calculation or a chapter before joining the team.

Anyone would stick a bookmark in their book if the god of thunder looked at them like that. But what were they _chatting_ about? What could they possibly be _laughing_ about? Only in unguarded moments with Tony did Bruce laugh like that--and, apparently, unguarded moments with Thor. Bruce and Tony shared the same dry, sardonic sense of humor and science dorkdom. They were lab partners, kindred minds, buddies. What did Thor and Bruce share?

She filed the information, the bright gazes, away for later.

 

* * *

 

“You should boast! It is a great and noble achievement!” Thor boomed.  The Avengers were gathered around for breakfast, once a rare moment of total, casual unity, but now becoming increasingly common. It was hard to resist the luxuries and amenities of Stark Towers, even for a ragtag group like the Avengers. Bruce would be the first to attest to it. 

Bruce turned bright red. At least he wasn’t green. “It’s nothing. It’s really just a modification on existing tech. Just, you know, more accessible to developing nations.”

“First I’m hearing about it,” Tony said, the corners of his mouth twitching upward.

Bruce turned redder and shrank in his chair. He couldn’t look up; if he did, he would see the other Avengers’ poorly-suppressed smiles at his discomfort. “Like I said, it was just a couple of cost-efficient modifications to water-purifying--”

“You are a good man and a great man. A warrior who not only lends his strength in battle, but his brains for the common good.”

“And modest, too,” Tony added. “Jesus would tell you to cool it with the meekness.”

“I agree with Thor,” Natasha said, a mischeivious glint in her eye. “The sacrifices you make are incredible.”

“I can’t even think how much better off the world would be with more people like you, doc,” Steve added.

Tony stood up and banged his knife against his glass of orange juice. “If there is one thing we can all agree on--and there is only one thing--it is that Bruce Banner is a man of extraordinary talent, compassion, brains, and heart. We are _all_ incredibly lucky to have him. To Bruce!” Tony lingered on the word _all,_ just slightly, just enough to imply something. If Natasha hadn’t witnessed the scene in the kitchen, she might have been at a loss for what he meant to convey. This just confirmed it. Nothing got past Tony.

“To Bruce!” The others toasted. Bruce kept his head down. If he looked up, the other Avengers would see his poorly-suppressed smile.

* * *

 

“So how long have you known?” Natasha sidled up to Tony after Bruce had gone to do lab work and Thor had gone off to wherever Thors go, although who knew if those were merely pretenses.

“Uh...about eight months. What are you talking about?”

“Bruce. And his...relationship.”

“Ah! Right. Bruce and his relationship.”

“You didn’t know?”

“Let’s make sure we’re on the same page. On the count of three, we both say who it is.”

Natasha rolled her eyes. “Don’t tell me you didn’t notice how handsy he is with Thor.”

“Yeah! Duh. How could you _not._ ”

Natasha raised her eyebrow.

“Are you guys talking about Bruce and Thor?” Clint asked. “I never would have put those two together.”

“I never thought they’d be so obvious!” Steve had seen the others gathered and joined in. He wasn’t above a little gossip now and then.

“To be honest, I’m surprised Bruce is hooking up with anyone.” Tony poured another cup of coffee. “Seems so daring for our little mouse man.”

“Well, good for him. He deserves it. He’s cute,” Natasha said.

Tony shrugged. “He’s OK.”

  


* * *

 

The next day, Clint, Tony, and Natasha gathered again, caught up in one of Clint's silly scenarios, the latest in a long line of ridiculous what-if’s: “OK, Godzilla is attacking the city. Only one Avenger can fight him.”

“I think most of us could take him down,” Steve said.

“But time is of the essence. He needs to be taken down as quickly and efficiently as possible.”

Bruce leaned against the counter, quietly steeping his tea. He never participated in their hypothetical pissing contests, and they all knew he--and the Other Guy--were off limits as hypothetical contenders. But today he spoke: “Thor. Hands down.”

Tony stammered. “Hold on. The time difference would be negligible. And as for efficiency--minimal clean up, best strategy, it would be--”

Bruce cut him off. “Thor. It’s definitely Thor.”

Some strange, unspoken tension passed between the lab partners. Tony, for once, was at a loss for words, even though he clearly wanted to say something.

“It’s nothing personal!” Bruce continued. “For what it’s worth, I think it wouldn’t matter--I think, like Cap said, we have a lot of good contenders. But objectively, Thor is the strongest.” He shrugged one shoulder. “And pretty badass.”

“I think we’re all pretty badass,” Tony said.

“Ton, you’re badass, and you can take down Godzilla. No one is arguing that.”

Tony smiled, appeased. But only for a moment.

“It’s just that, given the constraints--” Bruce waved a hand at Clint, as if trying to shake the responsibility in his direction--”Thor, er, would be the best go-to.”

“The constraints are stupid!” Tony said.

Steve looked between Bruce and Tony, trying to figure something out. And then the hammer came down on Natasha: Tony was _jealous?_ And being obvious about it, too. As obvious as Bruce and Thor, with their shoulder clasps and Thor ruffling Bruce’s hair and Bruce and Thor constantly pumping each other up--so to speak--before and after battles.

It took Natasha long enough to get over the shock of Thor and Bruce’s relationship. Now, to find out Tony was jealous...What was next? Some dramatic, soap opera-y confrontation?

* * *

  


 

* * *

 

The lab was perhaps the worst place to sneak up on Tony, especially when he was deep in his gadgetry, but Bruce was too excited. He threw his arms around Tony from behind, giving him a long-awaited hug, albeit backwards. “Ah, they’re gone! Finally!”

Tony laughed softly and patted Bruce’s hand. “Excited for some alone time, huh?” Tony turned around--the gadgets were just a distraction, anyway-- and hoisted Bruce onto a table.

“Uh, not enough to have sex on a lab cart,” Bruce said.

"We can have sex anywhere! We're free from prying eyes!" Tony exclaimed, unbuttoning and unzipping Bruce's pants for emphasis. 

"It  _rolls._ " Bruce jumped down, but he didn't fix his pants. "And it's unsanitary."

"Fine," Tony sighed, as if he specifically wanted to have sex on the rolling lab cart, and now that he couldn't, the prospect diminished. “Also, nice work on the misdirection with Thor. You almost had me going there.”

Bruce seemed genuinely confused. “What do you mean?”

“The whole gushing about Thor, the touchy-feelyness with Thor, the sparks. ‘Thor’s the coolest! Thor’s the best! Thor could be Godzilla!' That stuff. The whole team thinks you two are fucking."

Bruce stammered, and he was either genuinely baffled or he deserved an Oscar. “We’re friends! Thor _could_ beat Godzilla! I do think he’s cool, but we’re--they really think we’re fucking?”

"That wasn't intentional?"

"We're...friends..." Bruce said, and his brow furrowed, as if remembering all the hand clasps, hair ruffles, shoulder rubs, pep talks, post-battle care taking, and realizing how those might have been misconstrued.

Bruce and Tony stood in silence. 

"So that was not a clever misdirection," Tony said. 

"Well, it does function as one," Bruce said, trying to backpedal.

"Not the point. You have a crush on Thor."

 

"Tony--"

"If it were Thor asking you to have sex on a rolling lab cart, you would!"

"No, I wouldn't," Bruce said, firmly, and then, in a low, ashamed mutter directed at his feet, he added, "He'd crush it with his muscles."

Without another word, Tony walked out of the lab. 

"Oh, come on! Tony!" Bruce called after him.

He sulked in the lab for a moment, trying to piece together whatever project Tony was working on, then felt hands grab him and turn him around. 

"It's fine," Tony said, eyes blazing. "We'll make it work. I'll get a long blonde wig and pretend to be Thor." 

For the first time in weeks, their lips met without fear of interruption.  

"I'll get a short one and pretend to be Steve," Bruce panted as soon they pulled away. 

"Perfect. We're made for each other," Tony said, and he shoved Bruce onto the cart again.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Based on a head canon I have that Bruce and Tony would be in a relationship, but Bruce and Thor would be insufferably touchy buddies that they read as in a relationship more than Bruce and Tony. It's a post-Ragnarok head canon, but the fic takes place in an ambiguous time


End file.
